Polly - Meaning of Polly

What does Polly mean?

Pronounce
Polly

[ 2 syll. pol-ly, po-lly ] The baby girl name Polly is pronounced as PAOL-iy- †. Polly is largely used in English and Hebrew, and it is derived from Hebrew and Latin origins. This was a medieval form of Molly, but the reason for the altered first letter is unknown. The baby name is well-known from nursery rhymes such as "Polly Put the Kettle On", which was apparently adapted from an older song "Molly Put the Kettle On or Jenny's Baubie" (1803). Another well-known nursery rhyme is "Miss Polly had a Dolly". The successful John Gay ballad opera The Beggar's Opera (1728) also popularized the name borne by the fictional heroine Polly Peachum. Polly has also long been used as a common name for a parrot, but the reasons for this association are unclear.

In addition, Polly is a diminutive form of the name Mary (English).

Polly is also an English and Hebrew diminutive form of the name Molly (English and Irish).

Polly is also an English diminutive form of the name Paula (English, French, German, Polish, and Spanish).

Polly has 21 variant transcriptions that are used in English and other languages. English variant transcriptions include Paili, Paley, Paliki, Pall, Paulie, Polea, Polee, Polei, Poley, Polie, Pollea, Pollee, Polley, Polli, Pollie, Pollyana, Pollyanna, and Poly. Other English variants include the contracted forms Pol and Poll. A variant transcription of Polly used in other languages is Poli (Tongan).

Variant forms inherit the origin and meaning of Polly.

See also the related categories, medieval, english, hebrew, latin, heroine (conqueror), song (dance), opera, and successful (flourishing).

Polly is unusual as a baby name for girls. Its usage peaked modestly in 1934 with 0.040% of baby girls being named Polly. It ranked at #297 then. The baby name has since markedly slipped in popularity, and is now of irregular use. Among the group of girl names directly related to Polly, Mary was the most commonly used in 2018.

Baby names that sound like Polly include Pali, Pauli, Paulie, Pauly, Pollie, Paili, Paisli, Paisly, Pala, Paley, Paola, Paula, Pavla, Payal, Pela, Pele, Pili, Polee, Polei, and Poley.

† Pronunciation for Polly: P as in "pea (P.IY)" ; AO as in "ought (AO.T)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)"